i am doing a "upgrade" (haha) from a "fuel infected" 1979 superbug vert to carb and i'm having some problems getting enough juice to my coil to get ample fire. i know that the computer controlled the fuel pump and some of the engine electrics, but it should be much simpler now. i have fire to my coil and to the carb from the ign. switch and my charging system is hooked in. is there more that i am missing? do i need to install a voltage regulator or am i good with out it? having a hard time! HELP!!!! hahahaha!

Make sure your getting over 12 volts to the coil with the key on. And the only thing hooked to the negative is the wire comming from the points. If you want to diagnose it further, take a jumper wire from the fat red alternator wire (should always be hot) to the positive on the coil. If it doesn't start it could be a points issue, or the coil is bad. If it runs, you're not getting enough power from the positive wire, and I would just run another wire from the fuse box to the coil.

Also make sure the coil isn't hooked up backwards, or you may have fried it.

Last edited by Bugman114 on Mon Apr 08, 2013 9:57 pm; edited 1 time in total

If you have an alternator with only two wires (the fat red one, and a single smaller one) then no, u don't need a regulator. If it has the three prong connector, it requires an external regular, which a 79 isn't wired for. If that's the case, buy a later model alternator. It would be the cheapest, simplest, and most reliable option. But the alternator has nothing to do with it starting so don't worry about it, XD